


Wild

by JLaLa



Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types, Hunger Games Trilogy - Suzanne Collins
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Consensual Underage Sex, F/F, F/M, Mentions of Abortion, Recreational Drug Use, Teen Pregnancy, everlark
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-17
Updated: 2020-08-22
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:02:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,144
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25946305
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JLaLa/pseuds/JLaLa
Summary: “Katniss never wanted children. She’s not maternal; the mom gene never developed in her body and it makes perfect sense that she should not go through with this pregnancy.”
Relationships: Katniss Everdeen/Peeta Mellark
Comments: 36
Kudos: 202





	1. Months 1-3

**Author's Note:**

  * For [hungergamesfangirl02](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=hungergamesfangirl02).



> “I just bought a new car  
> One where the top goes down  
> So we can see the stars  
> I wanna take you so far  
> Out past the Saturn rings  
> And into my heart…”  
>  —John Legend “Wild”

**Wild**

_Part One: Months 1 to 3_

“I don’t know why we’re even going to this party.”

Katniss reaches for the bottle of vodka, taking a quick sip before walking into Johanna’s closet. Her best friend’s closet is much better than her own paltry selection of clothing and she flips through the selection of dresses before settling on a short olive number with a corset.

“Because it’s Gale’s birthday and that guy has a huge boner for you,” Johanna replies, a rolled joint between her fingers. “He’s like, dying for you to welcome him into adulthood.”

“We’re friends; have been since we were kids.” Katniss pulls her shirt over her head, her jeans following it to the carpet. “I can’t even think about him that way without thinking that our children would come out with extra toes.”

“You’ve thought about children with him?” Johanna cackles as she stands to help Katniss pull the dress on.

“With disgust,” Katniss informs her. “I don’t even want children. My genetics—with the exception of Prim—prove that Everdeens should not breed.”

“I’m not talking about breeding with him. I’m talking about fucking him.” Johanna zips Katniss up before looking at her friend approvingly. “Nice.”

Katniss reaches for a bottle of vodka, taking a deeper swig of the alcohol. She could already feel the rush from the pills she’d taken before coming to the Mason mansion.

“Let’s get this over with,” she tells Johanna. “I don’t want to waste this high on you.”

“Fuck you!” Her best friend throws an arm around her. “You know you love me.”

Katniss grins, pressing a light kiss to Johanna’s lips. “I don’t love anyone else but you and Prim.”

“Sorry to burst your bubble—but I like cock.” Her best friend’s face sobers for a quick moment. “A particular one, but you know how it goes.”

A laugh escapes Katniss’ vodka-lined lips. “Let’s go and forget about cocks for one night.”

“Agreed.” They shake hands before grasping each other’s fingers, then kissing the tops of each other’s hands. “I think the Uber is here.”

They head out, the smell of liquor and weed permeating the room before Johanna takes one last toke of her blunt and closes the door behind her.

++++++

The Hawthornes own a moderately-sized home on the opposite side of town known as the Seam. The great thing is the houses are so far apart that no one even notices the large congregations of cars parked along the street.

The two-story farmhouse is filled to the brim with people. From what Katniss could gauge, it is most of the upcoming senior class. Johanna is already pulling her into the packed house, and Katniss puts up little resistance since the pills are causing everything to move in slow motion.

The calm steadiness from the medication helps her usually-frantic system. Without them, Katniss is hitting highs where she’s doing things like studying the ceiling of her room, counting every single speck on it (last count: 250) or hitting lows where she won’t even bother leaving her bed.

It’s really her mother’s fault for leaving her medications out—in their cabinet—where anyone could just sneak a pill or two.

“Katniss!” They turn to find Gale heading towards them, two blonds flanking his sides. One of them is Marvel, who was on the wrestling team with Gale. The other one is unfamiliar, but his eyes are so brilliantly blue that Katniss is sure that it’s the drugs making them that way.

“Hey!” She gives Gale a smile. “Happy beginning of the end!”

“She means happy birthday!” Johanna pipes in loudly since they’re next to one of the speakers. Katniss smiles at Marvel. “Hey, Marvel.” Then, she looks to the other boy. “Who the hell are you?”

“This is Peeta Mellark,” Gale says. “Just transferred from Capitol High. He’s the newest recruit for the wrestling team. We’ve all been practicing together at the school gym.”

“So, you can pin someone down?” Katniss suddenly asks the boy in front of her.

“I’m not that good, but I’m getting there.” Peeta holds out his hand to her, his blue eyes staring into her hazed greys. “What’s your name?”

She takes it, enjoying the feeling of his warm hand wrapped in hers immediately. “Katniss Everdeen.”

Johanna looks between the two, her dark eyes lighting up devilishly.

“Oh, you two—something’s going to happen here.”

++++++

Katniss hates when Johanna was right.

The thought rushes into her mind as she’s straddling Peeta in his car, the droptop open as they fuck in the middle of the woods twenty or so minutes away from Gale’s party. She can still hear the music as she rocks against Peeta.

It started so innocently.

They had started talking about the upcoming school year; they are in the same AP classes and she tells him about her plans to get the hell out of Panem to UC Berkeley, which is way across the country.

“No shit! I’m going to Berkeley!” Peeta tells her. “I’m planning to go into environmental studies. How about you?”

“Not sure,” she says, looking around the party to distract herself from the closeness of the boy. Katniss knows nothing about him, except for the fact that just standing next to him causes her body to come alive. “Isn’t that what your first two years are for? To decide?”

“True.” Peeta takes another sip from his cup, his cheeks already pink. Katniss thinks it’s adorable—or at least the vodka does. “Tell me about our classmates.”

“I can’t talk shit about them here,” she counters. “You have a car?”

Peeta nods. “Across the street.”

Katniss takes his hand, entwining their fingers. “Let’s go and I’ll tell you all about them.”

He looks to her as they head out of the party. “Gale tells me that you’re trouble.”

“Gale has been wanting to get into my pants for years,” she retorts when they reach his car. “Of course, he’d say that to someone I’m interested in.”

“You’re interested in me?” Peeta asks as he opens the door for her.

“I am trouble,” Katniss informs him. “And I am.”

++++++

They never get to talking about their classmates.

Instead, Peeta opens the top of the car and Katniss is immediately thrilled by the cool wind hitting her cheeks. She curls up in her seat, head thrown back as she stares up at the black sky filled with stars; they seem so much brighter tonight.

The car is speeding up and she holds her arms out unafraid—because she’s flying high with this beautiful boy beside her.

She looks to him and sees the hunger in his gaze as he watches her.

Katniss points to a clearing on the side of the road and Peeta immediately turns, the tires squealing as the car enters the forest.

As soon as he parks the car, Katniss is on him, her thighs straddling him in his seat as she leans down to kiss him. Peeta responds eagerly, his hand reaching for the nape of her neck to deepen the kiss and she moans, feeling her center twisting almost painfully.

Every part of her consciousness whispers in her ear: ‘ _Take him, fuck him, make him yours…_ ’

“You’re driving me wild,” Peeta says against her skin, his lips going to her neck as his hands travel down her arms.

Her own hands are already reaching to pull his cock out from his jeans and she’s happy to know that he is well-endowed—thick and just the right length. She could really care less about length; it’s the width that she craves. She loves feeling of every ridge of a cock filling her up; she loves the fullness of her cunt hugging a thick one.

“That’s a good thing,” Katniss says as she strokes him, her hand moving rapidly up and down. He’s practically humping her hand. “Just let yourself feel, Peeta.”

She thanks her foresight for deciding on barely-there underwear as she moved the scrap of cloth away from her slit and plunges down onto his length.

“Fuck!” Peeta feels unbelievable and Katniss wants nothing more than to feel him as deep as she can. She rides him, listening to him moan and call out her name. His hands are on her hips, guiding her as he thrusts up. “Yes, like that Peeta…”

“You’re unbelievable,” he says against her ear. “Like you were made for me.”

The timbre of his voice, so thick with desire, drives her to move faster. She loses herself in the feel of him, telling him every dirty thing that she wants them to do together; how she wants him to fuck her mouth and how she wants him to ride his face till he’s drenched in her slick…

Peeta comes when she tells him that she wants to call him Daddy.

She climaxes, feeling his come fill her, his blue eyes wild and lost in his own orgasm.

As they come down, they cling to one another, not quite ready to move, just enjoying the feeling of togetherness and feeling like there’s no one else in the world right now but them.

++++++

School starts without a hitch and Katniss and Peeta’s little tryst is put aside as they enter their senior year.

The morning after was not awkward at all; she simply kissed him and offered to pay for breakfast. They drive up to a Wendy’s and eat in the parking lot before he dropped her off at Johanna’s house where she was supposed to be sleeping over.

Peeta asks for her number and she gives it to him before kissing him chastely goodbye.

They even have classes together; they get paired together in Miss Trinket’s World Cultures class. They work on their presentation on Brazil, her hand moving along his thigh with their ankles twisted together.

They never fuck, though—on more than one occasion—one of them catches the other alone for a mind-blowing kiss in a deserted hallway.

She goes to wrestling matches with Johanna on the pretense of supporting the team, but it’s mostly to watch Peeta. She can tell that Gale is pissed at her; he’s not exactly looking at Peeta like a friend anymore ever since Johanna pointed out how Peeta left with Katniss during his party.

“Oh Katniss…I can see why you let him fuck you,” Johanna says as they watch Peeta wrestle someone from the opposing team. “Look at that ass.”

She sighs, her nipples aching in remembrance. “I never got a chance to do anything with his ass, but if it’s as good as his cock—then it’s best to leave it as it is.”

“You should let him take you out,” Johanna tells her.

“No. We’ve got a good thing going on,” Katniss insists. “I don’t need anything more.”

However, she embarrassingly stands up and cheers when he wins the match.

Their eyes meet and the smile he gives her tells her that she’s playing with fire.

++++++

Another month has passed, and Katniss realizes that she hasn’t had her period.

Her breasts hurt, but the blood has not come.

“How could you not realize that you haven’t had your period?” Johanna asks as they sit in her bathroom, waiting for the test results on the store bought pregnancy test. “Also, have you not heard of emergency contraception?”

“I spent the rest of that weekend in front of this very toilet,” Katniss tells her tightly. “I wasn’t exactly in the right mindset.”

“How are you going to tell your mother?” her friend continues to prod.

“I’m not,” she replies. “I’m just going to have it taken care of—if I am.”

“You are.” Johanna picks up the test to show her the bold pink plus sign. “Are you going to tell him?”

“No—” Katniss coughs back her tears. “I told you. I’m taking care of it.”

However, when her best friend takes her in her arms, she can’t help but cry.

++++++

“How’s school?” Katniss asks Prim, her younger sister, over breakfast.

“Okay.” Prim digs into her pancakes and looks to Katniss. “Aren’t you hungry?”

“I have toast.” Katniss holds up the piece. The nausea has come full force and so she’s sticking to things that won’t make her head fall into a toilet for the millionth time. “Anything cool happening?”

“How many cool things happen in middle school?” her sister retorts with a smile. “We are having a school dance next week.”

Katniss sits next to her. “Do you have a date?”

“I’m going with Rory and Rue and bunch of our friends,” Prim informs her. Rory is Gale’s younger brother and Rue has been friends with Prim since Pre-K. “Hey Katniss? Who’s Peeta Mellark?”

“A guy at my school,” Katniss replies in surprise. “Why?”

“Rory says that Gale’s all bent out of shape because you two apparently were together at his party,” her sister informs her. “And he called this morning.”

Katniss had stopped replying to his texts after finding out she was pregnant.

“I heard that his family is rich,” Prim tells her. “Like, they have some big real estate company and own most of the retail lots in Chicago and Washington D.C.” Her sister bounces in her seat, blonde hair moving with her. “Does he like you?”

“He’s nice and we hung out. That’s about it.”

“But he called you and seemed really nice on the phone,” Prim continued. “Rue and I looked him up on Facebook. He’s really cute.”

“I agree. He is cute.” So was his cock, but that was neither here nor there. “But you know relationships with boys like that never work out with girls like me. We barely make enough for rent and Mom has to work all the time. I’m just lucky that I got a full scholarship for Berkeley.”

“You’re like Star-Crossed Lovers!” Prim squeals, her blue eyes dreamy.

“You know they die at the end,” Katniss points out.

Her sister snorts. “You’re no fun.”

++++++

The Friday of Prim’s school dance, Katniss finds herself at Johanna’s again. There’s no weed or vodka tonight. Instead, she is sitting in her bathroom; her best friend giving her a moment to herself. Katniss sits on the lid of the toilet, two packets of pills in each of her hands: mifepristone and misoprostol—or Pill 1 and Pill 2 for her convenience.

There’s an unopened bottle of water next to her; she’s wearing her favorite pair of sweats and the oversized sweater that she kept that was her Dad’s. It was the only things she kept of his after he died. She is prepped, wearing a pad as the clinic instructed and Johanna has a heating pad if she needs it.

All she must do is take the pills.

It had been unbelievably easy to get them, a simple exam telling her that she’s entering her third month of pregnancy and that the blood tests look fine. She’s been screened for STDs and has come out clean—good to know—and is in perfect health.

The doctor at the clinic tells her that it’s better to do this somewhere comfortable so she goes to Johanna’s—she can’t imagine being at home waiting to abort—and she needs her friend’s support.

Johanna welcomes her—they have always had each other’s backs.

She opens the first packet of Pill 1 and then places it on the counter before opening the bottle of water.

Katniss holds the pill in her hand—she easily finds her way to pills…but something holds her back.

“You have to understand.” She’s not sure who she is reasoning to. “I’m only seventeen. I barely know your Dad. You will ruin everything…” Katniss says the last part shakily. “I don’t mean it like that. I mean—I have so many plans and I don’t know how to fit you into them.”

Her hand reaches for that first pill and her fingers tremble.

“Just fucking do it!”

Katniss has no idea why she is crying. Maybe it’s because she can picture her father’s sad eyes staring at her before they morph into Peeta’s lovely blues. She can already tell that Peeta might love her—but love is for suckers and she knows she only has the capability to hurt.

She’s already hurting _him_ —the one in her stomach that she’s supposed to be getting rid of.

Katniss never wanted children. She’s not maternal; the mom gene never developed in her body and it makes perfect sense that she should not go through with this pregnancy.

She tells herself this as she flushes Pill 1 down the toilet.

“You have no idea what you’re fucking doing!”

Katniss tells herself this through her sobs as she takes Pill 2, opens the case, and flushes it down the toilet as well.

There’s a buzz on her phone; it’s Peeta.

Perfect fucking timing: ‘ _Please talk to me_.’

She responds immediately, ‘ _I’m at Johanna’s house. Can you pick me up?_ ’

Texting him her friend’s address, his response comes in less than a minute:

‘ _I’m already outside._ ’

**End of Part One**


	2. Months 4-6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> “Lay on the passenger's side  
> Tell me how fast you want  
> We'll get there tonight  
> Oh, fire, you set me on fire  
> I swear you're the only one  
> I'd take on this ride…”
> 
> -John Legend “Wild”

**Wild**

_Part Two: Months 4-6_

Katniss is barely breathing as she stands up.

She’s just made the biggest decision of her life—in Johanna’s bathroom.

In a daze, Katniss steps out and into the room where her best friend sits on her bed, hugging one of her pillows.

Johanna stands up. “Are you alright? Do you need anything—”

“I couldn’t do it,” Katniss says immediately. “I couldn’t take the pills.”

“Oh my God.” Johanna places her hands on her friend’s shoulders to steady Katniss—or herself. “And, now…?”

“I talk to Peeta who is waiting outside and tell him that I’m having this kid,” Katniss sputters out, her grey eyes watering. “I was sitting there and all of a sudden the pills were in the toilet.” She looks to Johanna, gaze anxious. “That has to mean something, right?”

“Yeah, Katniss,” Johanna responds. “It means that we’re just adding one more person to our circle.” She pulls Katniss into her arms. “Honestly, I’m scared for you, but I’ll be here…for everything.”

“Thank you, babe.” She lays her head against her best friend. “I should get down there, shouldn’t I?”

“Yeah. You’ve been avoiding him since you found out.” They pull apart and Johanna smirks. “And for some stinkin’ reason, he still comes around. You really fucked him good.”

Katniss can’t help but laugh.

++++++

Peeta immediately notices her red-rimmed eyes.

He opens the door for her. “You okay?”

“Yeah.” Katniss plops down in the passenger seat. “Can we get out of here?”

“Just point me in a direction.” Peeta gets into the driver’s seat and starts the engine. “The only places I’ve gone are Gale’s house and school.”

“That’s just about all of Panem,” she retorts, and he chuckles. “How did you get here so fast?”

“You see the place at the end of the street?”

Katniss looks over at the beautiful brick mansion with its columned entrance and landscape lighting.

“Yeah, the biggest house in Victors’ Village?” Peeta’s cheeks flood with color. “Oh fuck—that’s your house, isn’t it?”

“Technically, it’s my parents’ house,” he reasons with a bashful smile. “I just sleep and eat there…I’m sounding like some douchey rich boy, aren’t I?”

She laughs, suddenly endeared by his embarrassment. “Yes, but I think it’s kind of cute.”

His hand reaches for hers and Katniss doesn’t pull away.

Maybe it’s because there’s something raw and honest in the way that Peeta smiles at her. He doesn’t see the faults that she has. He doesn’t know about her manic episodes or need to self-medicate with her mother’s anti-depressants.

All Peeta knows is that girl who fucked him literally two hours after they met.

However, he is still so kind to her.

And now she is going to ruin his life.

Katniss is so lost in thought that she doesn’t even realize that they’ve traveled just outside of Panem and are now surrounded by a beautiful orange forest, leaves falling around them on the two-way road. The sun is just beginning to set, and she stares up at the warmth of the sky trying to forget about everything warring inside her.

“This is my favorite color,” Peeta informs her. “This orange of the sunset.” He looks her over. “Your favorite color is green.”

She turns to him in shock. “How did you know?”

“The night we met, the dress you wore…olive…and your sweater is almost the same shade,” he says. “I notice a lot of things about you, Katniss.”

“You know nothing about me,” she tells him, wrapping her arms around herself. “Like Gale said, I’m trouble.”

Peeta suddenly parks on the side of the road and turns off the engine.

“Then, tell me. Tell me why you believe you’re such trouble,” he demands to know.

Instead of responding, Katniss steps out of the car, slamming the door behind her. She walks stealthily into the forest. She’s grown in forests, knowing every nuance of these earthly grounds.

Peeta is following behind her, clomping clumsily. Such a city boy.

“Stop,” he wheezes out.

Katniss stops, her eyes intensely on Peeta.

“I know you like me, Peeta. I think that you’re going to regret doing so.”

He approaches her carefully. “Why would I regret this?” His hands reach to cup her face, his thumb grazing over her lips. Her heart stutters at the gesture. “Or this?”

Peeta leans down, kissing her tenderly. Her hands wrap around his wrists in a lackluster protest as he presses her against the hollow of a tree, his mouth still against hers.

They pull apart slowly and regretfully.

“Peeta.” Her eyes are still closed. “I’m pregnant.”

++++++

Katniss suspected that it would come to this; they don’t talk for weeks, both not knowing how to go about her revelation. She doesn’t blame him. They hardly know one another; she’s sure that he believes that he might not even be the father.

“Fuck Peeta Mellark,” Johanna says after he brings Katniss back to her friend’s house and takes off wordlessly. “I should just knock on his door and tell his precious family what he’s done.”

“I don’t want you to,” Katniss replies simply. “I can do this myself.”

She’s not sure how, but she’ll figure it out. She always does.

In school, Katniss keeps her head down and does her work as she usually does. She ignores him when he tries to talk to her in World Cultures class. Instead, she’ll do the worksheet and put both their names on it.

She stops going to his wrestling matches and hears from Johanna that he’s loss the last two he’s competed in.

“Serves him right,” Johanna mutters.

Despite everything, Katniss’ heart cracks a little thinking that she’s missed his matches and that signature smile he gives her after it’s all over.

Her nausea comes and goes; she and Johanna go to the clinic together where they hear her child’s heartbeat for the first time. It’s amazingly fast and Katniss stares at that little floating being, the rapid movement of its heart telling her that she must be doing something right.

Katniss gives up booze and pills cold turkey.

Between the cold sweats and the morning sickness, she can’t tell which is worst. A lot of the time, Katniss can barely get out of bed. Prim is already suspecting something is wrong, but Katniss simply tells her that it’s stress.

A little after her fourth month, she opens her locker and finds a manila envelope inside. Looking around, she peeks inside of it to find a huge wad of cash. There’s no note, but she knows who it’s from.

Her anger suddenly flares and Katniss marches towards the gymnasium, envelope in hand. School is over but many of the sports teams are practicing—including the wrestling team.

She finds him easily, standing with Marvel and another teammate, a tall, dark-skinned man.

“Hey!” she calls out and they all turn.

Peeta’s blues widen in shock as she grabs the front of his wrestling uniform and yanks him away from the rest of the team. She pushes him out of the open door of the gymnasium and drags him towards the far end of the track field.

Finally, they stop, and she shoves the manila envelope at him.

“Who the fuck do you think you are?” she blazes. “You say nothing to me for weeks and then shove money at me like you can buy me off? Don’t even worry about it—I don’t plan to tell anyone who the father of this baby is! Your precious rich-bitch family will not have their reputation tarnished because one night their little baby boy decided to fuck some random girl—”

“I didn’t know what to say, okay?” he shouts out. “I didn’t know what to do! You’re right. I’m just some rich kid that doesn’t know anything about life or even about you or what you’re going through…I just knew that I needed to help you somehow…so I sold my car.”

“You sold you car?” she repeats, arms crossed.

“Yes, it was the only thing I could think of,” Peeta replies, his face flushed. “I’m trying…trying to figure out how to bring this up to my family…how to keep you both from hating me—because I don’t want you or the baby to ever hate me. Even if you don’t want me, I just want to show you that I’m trying to be there for you in some way.”

Her shoulders slump tiredly, and Katniss sits on the grass. After a moment, he joins her, sitting across and picking at the blades of grass.

“I really don’t want your money,” she tells him after a moment. “And I won’t tell your family. I haven’t even told mine yet…” Katniss lets out a slow breath. “I’d like for you to be there for the baby and not me. I don’t need you, but he does.”

Peeta looks up. “He? You know—”

“I don’t know the sex yet, but I’ve just always had a feeling.” Katniss swipes the tears away. “And I do like you, but everything is so complicated right now. I don’t think I have to capacity to feel anything but overwhelmed—”

He suddenly reaches over, tugging at her sleeve, and guiding her onto his lap.

“I’ll be here—” he tells her. “—however you want me. Just let me stay, okay?”

She looks him, this earnest boy, and her resistance falls.

Her hand reaches to push his golden locks from his face and she wearily agrees to let him stay.

++++++

She doesn’t keep the money.

Instead, Katniss asks him to open a savings account for the baby. He agrees and comes back with a bank card for her to have. Peeta tells her that he’ll put a little bit in it each month as he has some other things that he can sell for cash.

Since he sold his car, Peeta borrows his mother’s car; an old Volkswagen that she used as a teenager and never had the heart to sell. It’s clunky and bright yellow, but it is good enough to drive Katniss home after school—whenever she lets him.

Katniss gets bigger in just a short time. Thankfully, autumn is perfect for chunky sweaters and coats that hide a growing baby bump. He hands Katniss a credit card one day and tells her to go shopping with Johanna for clothes. Katniss protests but her best friend accepts for her.

“Honey, you care barely zip your jeans,” Johanna argues. “We’ll get some stuff online from a maternity site and we’ll just shop for bigger sweaters at the mall. No one will be able to tell the difference.”

But she can.

When Katniss showers, she looks down at the bump—firm and round. Her hands protectively caress it, assuring whoever is inside that she’s doing the best she can.

It’s New Year’s Eve.

Katniss’ mother is working a late shift at the hospital so she’s home with Prim, who’s already asleep in her room. Her sister and her friends had a Zoom get-together before they had to go back to their own families.

Katniss puts a blanket over her sister, kissing the top of Prim’s golden head.

“Happy New Year, Prim,” she whispers into her hair.

Closing the door behind her, she heads to the living room to find something to watch on TV. Johanna is stuck at home; her parents are throwing a New Year’s Eve party and her best friend is obligated to play the dutiful daughter, if only just for the night.

It is nearing midnight and, in the distance, she can hear fireworks. Inside her, there is a distinctive fluttering and Katniss puts a hand to her belly, unafraid for once to acknowledge the life growing inside of her. She and the baby have become one another’s confidants, though Katniss does most of the talking.

“Happy New Year, Kid,” she greets wryly. “You’re going to be born this year.”

There’s a sudden knock at the front door and Katniss goes to it.

Opening it, she’s surprised to find Peeta in front of her, dressed in a suit and tie.

“Peeta, what are you—”

She is interrupted as Peeta wraps an arm around her waist, pulling her against him.

His hand reaches to cup her cheek, his blue eyes searing in the frigid night, as he leans down to kiss her softly. There is heat, but it’s enveloped in something else; something close to love—or whatever she’s felt growing in her chest since the night they met.

“I couldn’t start this year without you two,” he whispers against her lips.

Katniss doesn’t reply. Instead, she takes his hand, pulling him into her humble home. Peeta looks around, seeing her childhood photos against the wood panel walls as she leads him down the hallway towards her room.

“You look like your Dad,” he remarks as they enter her bedroom.

“It’s the eyes.” Katniss closes the door behind them, locking it. Prim is all the way on the other side of their matchbox house, but she can’t take the chance of her sister finding them together. “Where were you tonight?”

“The Masons were having a New Year’s Eve party and my family was there,” he explains. “I think Johanna could tell I was having a rotten time and told me that you were home with Prim—”

She cuts him off, her arms circling his neck and her mouth going to his. Peeta groans against her lips and her body presses to his front, feeling him hard against her.

She wants this man in front of her so achingly bad that her body burns when his fingers brush against her arms.

In fluid motion, they pull each other’s clothes away, eyes on one another as she moves backward to her bed. Her gaze dances over his body, broad and firm, his skin a lightly toasted gold. His thick cock juts out, and her mouth waters knowing that they are bringing in the new year with him inside her.

Peeta lays her down reverently, kissing her once more, pressing his mouth against her neck…down to her sensitive nipples…and then he stops at her rounded belly.

His hand rests on it for a moment, eyes soft as he stares, before placing a gentle kiss to its top.

“Happy New Year, little one,” he whispers.

Katniss pulls Peeta up, her heart brimming at the way he talks to their child.

Her hand wraps around his cock, pumping him, pulling her towards her soaked cunt.

“I need you,” she tells him.

Peeta moves over her, careful not to press against her stomach as he sheaths himself inside her.

They both sigh, foreheads pressed, as they begin to move. Katniss closes her eyes, losing herself in the feeling of him, his bare skin against hers, sending tingles through her sensitive body. She’s learned a lot from books, including the fact that this part of her pregnancy sends her hormones into overdrive. She can feel him, not just in her slicked pussy, but all over—the sensation spreading over her like warm butter.

“So tight…so sweet…” he breathes against her, lost in their frantic fucking. “…all mine…”

_Mine._

Katniss is his and the thought careens her into a back-bending orgasm.

She screams and is covered immediately by his kiss as he spills inside her.

Sweaty and sated, he lays his head on her chest as her hand runs through his hair. The scene is familiar, but there’s something different in the air.

“I mean it,” he says after a moment. “I want you to be mine.”

Katniss wants to believe him.

But she knows better.

++++++

Winter break is over and as Katniss enters the school, she knows something is different. Johanna puts an arm around her protectively as they head to their lockers. She can hear the whispers as she passes some of her classmates and a chill rushes down her spine.

They know.

It’s obvious now; she is overall slim, but even a bulky sweater can’t hide her baby bump. She barely managed to rush pass her mother that morning though Prim eyed her suspiciously.

“Just ignore these assholes,” Johanna tells her.

“How did they even find out?”

They head down the hall and Katniss sees Peeta by his own locker, Gale and Marvel by his side. They all look to her. Peeta, with obvious tenderness, but the other two with derision, especially Gale.

“Hey, Katniss,” Peeta greets her. “Happy New Year.”

“Thanks…Happy New Year to you, too,” she tells him before looking to the guys behind her. “Happy New Year, Marvel…Gale.”

Marvel gives her a nod, but Gale turns away from her completely.

“That looks heavy.” Peeta reaches for her bag, taking it off her shoulders. “Let me get that for you.” He turns to his friends easily. “I’ll see you in English.”

“And my class is right over here.” Johanna points to the door adjacent to them. “See you at lunch, Katniss.”

They head down the hall, the stares of the student body on them.

Katniss doesn’t look at him.

“Why are you doing this? I told you that only Johanna knows that you’re the father,” she hisses quietly.

“Why can’t I just carry the books of the girl I like?” Peeta retorts. “It’s called chivalry.”

“The gossip mill is on fire,” she mutters.

Peeta doesn’t miss a beat. “Then, let it burn.”

Katniss can’t help but snort.

++++++

As her sixth month begins, Katniss is once again at the clinic. She is examined and everything looks fine; her body is accommodating her pregnancy well.

However, this ultrasound is different.

“Would you like to know the sex?” the technician asks her.

Katniss is still staring at the profile of the baby inside her in wonder. Somehow, she hasn’t messed things up.

“Sure,” she responds after a moment.

The technician moves the probe along her stomach. “And I’m seeing…a boy.”

Katniss sits up, looking at the screen. “Are you sure?”

The camera is moved slightly.

“This is the angle from underneath,” the woman explains. “Right between the legs is the penis.”

“That nub?” Katniss can’t help but chuckle. “I can’t believe that I’m right. I’ve been calling it a ‘he’ since I found out.”

For the first time, she feels the elation and the solidness of motherhood.

Katniss will do anything to protect her son.

She does wish that Peeta was here to share this moment with her.

It is her fault; she never mentioned this appointment, knowing he’d come with her.

However, the gossip at school is cruel; Katniss has been called a skank too many times to count and Johanna is one more fight away from being suspended. She warns her friend to keep her temper in check; she is not worth it.

“Why isn’t Peeta doing this?” Johanna questions. “Why do you feel like you have to take it all on yourself?”

Peeta tells her that she doesn’t have to.

However, Katniss knows the inner workings of small-town life, how it thrives on gossip and scandal. She is Katniss Everdeen, who lives in a single parent home in a tiny matchbox house that is falling apart. Her mother is known for having a nervous breakdown after her husband’s death that almost had her children taken away from her, only anti-depressants and anxiety medications keep her mother going now.

She knows that Peeta wouldn’t be able to take it.

In the end, he will resent her for taking him down with her.

Katniss has to protect them both—her two boys.

That thought alone is what keeps her going.

++++++

“I’m sure you know why you’re here,” Principal Snow says as she sits in his office. Beside him is Mr. Abernathy, assistant principal, who looks at her in concern. “Is there anything that you’d like to tell us?”

Immediately, Katniss shakes her head. “No, sir.”

“Katniss.” Mr. Abernathy sits in the seat next to her. “Someone made an anonymous report, outing you for having drugs in your locker.” He meets her stare. “You know when you get a locker, you sign a contract allowing the school to open the lockers if needed.”

“There weren’t any drugs in there,” she says squarely.

“There was not.” Mr. Abernathy reaches into the box on Principal Snow’s desk. “However, there were these.”

He takes out a familiar container—her prenatal vitamins.

The man looks hugely uncomfortable while Principal Snow stands by his desk, coldness in his stare.

“There was also this…” Mr. Abernathy hands her the folder. “I’m sorry, but I had to look inside.”

“What is in there, Miss Everdeen?” Snow demands to know.

Katniss ignores him, the sound of her blood rushing in her ears.

“Miss Everdeen!” Snow intones.

“An ultrasound photo!” Katniss admits. “Of my son…”

She isn’t afraid of this man and she isn’t ashamed of her baby.

“Oh, Katniss…” Mr. Abernathy shakes his head at her, grey eyes full of sympathy. “The father of the baby…does he go to this school?”

She doesn’t answer, her body sinking in her seat in a dead faint.

**END OF PART TWO**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Toddler J is starting distance learning preschool tomorrow so the conclusion will likely be on Friday.
> 
> Thanks for reading.


	3. Months 7-9

_“I wanna love you  
For miles and miles  
We can go slow, we don't need to rush  
I'll take the wheel, make you feel every touch  
I wanna drive you  
Wild, wild, wild…”_

_-John Legend “Wild”_

**Wild**

_Part Three: Months 7-9_

“Of course, I’ve known.” The exasperated voice is clearly Johanna’s. “I’m her best friend!”

“Couldn’t you have suggested an alternative?” It’s Mr. Abernathy. “She’s seventeen and she has a chance to get the hell out of Panem. Now what?”

“She’s going to get out of here,” Katniss’ friend declares vehemently. “We both are. We’re leaving everyone and everything in this nothing town!”

“You don’t mean that.” There’s a hint of pain in the man’s voice. “After—”

“After nothing,” Johanna responds tiredly.

Katniss opens her eyes to see the them standing close… _too_ close in the nurse’s office. The man’s hands rest on Johanna’s forearms, a thumb moving against her friend’s skin.

“Oh God…” Katniss groans from where she’s laying. “He’s the cock that you want?”

Johanna ignores the question and rushes over to her. “Are you okay?”

“How in trouble am I?” Katniss asks her friend.

“Your Mom is with Principal Snow right now,” Johanna tells her. She leans down, close to Katniss’ ear. “Everyone knows that you fainted in Snow’s office. Peeta wants to see you. Marvel practically had to hold him down to keep him from ripping the door off the hinges to get to you.”

“I’m not going to tell anyone it’s him,” she responds.

“He doesn’t care,” Johanna argues. “Why should you?”

“Because I need to protect him—” Her hands go to her stomach. “—and him.” She sits up slowly. “I care for them both.”

There’s a cough and they turn to find Mr. Abernathy…Haymitch—she can’t think of him as the assistant principal when he stares at Johanna like that—stepping towards them.

“You’re still allowed to attend school,” he advises her quietly. “If Snow tells you that you have to leave, tell him that you’ll take it to the school board. He will retreat; he’s already in hot water with Superintendent Coin.”

Katniss nodded, giving a weak smile. “Thanks.”

“You didn’t hear it from me,” he tells her. “I’m rooting for you.”

Haymitch steps out of the room, closing the door behind him.

“How the hell did _that_ happen?” Katniss asks in shock.

“You know how I was taking that English Literature class at the community college down in District 4?” Johanna recalls. “Well, he was in the class, too.”

Katniss rests back on the pillow. “We need to get the hell out of Panem.”

Johanna joins her on the bed. “Tell me about it.”

++++++

“Do you realize how much this baby is going to change your life?” Katniss’ mom shouts as they sit at the dinner table. “You are seventeen!”

“You were eighteen when you had me,” Katniss points out.

“I had your father and we were already planning to get married.” Her mother looks to her. “Why won’t you tell anyone who the father is?”

“Because he wouldn’t be able to handle all the talk.” Katniss sighs. “I’ve been called a slut way more times than I’ve had sex.”

Her mother can’t help but snort. “I should’ve had the talk with you sooner,” she says tiredly. “It’s going to be hard, Katniss. Even with your father, we struggled a lot.”

Katniss meets her mother’s weary eyes. Prim shares the same shade of blue; her sister is currently hiding in her room though she’s probably listening at the door.

“Do you think that I was a mistake? Prim?”

Her mother doesn’t respond for a moment and she can’t hide the slice of hurt. “Oh.”

“Katniss…” she says, covering Katniss’ hand. “We were happy, but we were so young. I know your father had regrets—as did I. I just don’t want that for you.”

“I don’t know why I even listen to you.” Katniss stands. “I practically raised Prim by myself. Do you remember that we were almost taken away? I do! I’m not going to let that happen to this baby. He’s going to always be able to depend on me—like I should’ve been able to depend on you!”

She walks to her room, slamming the door behind her.

Looking up at the ceiling, Katniss ignores the constant buzzing of her phone.

She knows it’s either Johanna or Peeta, but she is in no mood to talk.

“Katniss?” She lifts her head to find Prim stepping into the room. “Is it true?”

Katniss doesn’t respond. Instead, she lifts her shirt revealing the belly that she’s been keeping a secret since the start of the new year.

“Oh.” Prim sits next to her sister on the bed and her hand reaches, but she stops. “May I?”

Katniss softens at her sister’s fascination. Taking Prim’s hand, she places it on the top of her belly.

“He kicks a lot,” Katniss says. “Especially at night.”

She makes room for Prim on her bed and her sister joins her. They sit in silence, both their hands on the little boy inside Katniss’ belly.

“I’ll help you take care of him,” Prim says after a moment. “We’ll take of each other.”

Katniss smiles softly, kissing the top of Prim’s head. “Thank you.”

++++++

Now that Katniss’ pregnancy is common knowledge, she doesn’t bother to hide it. Snow (she no longer feels the need to address him with his title because she has no respect for the man) tries to convince her to leave for the rest of the year, but she uses Haymitch’s advice about taking it up with the school board.

It shuts him up immediately.

She’s developed a bit of a waddle and people make room for her in the hallway. However, no one bothers to say anything. She is sure that both Johanna and Peeta have something to do with it.

Peeta, on the other hand, still insists on carrying her books to classes despite the stares that they get.

He also insists daily that he tell his parents.

“What good will it do?” she argues as they sit in his car as he drives her home. “They’re just going to convince you that I’m not good enough for you—that this baby isn’t yours.”

“Do you really think that I’ll listen to them?” Peeta asks her. “That I’m so weak that I’ll let my parents convince me that I shouldn’t be with you?”

Katniss doesn’t respond, crossing her arms. Truth is, she is afraid that somehow his family will sway him.

In just a few short months, Peeta Mellark has found a way into her heart. However, she knows that love is sometimes not strong enough to keep a person around.

“Unbelievable, Katniss.” Peeta shakes his head at her. “I have done nothing but try to be here!”

“I never asked you to!” she tells him, her anger flaring. “I said from the beginning that I didn’t need your help.”

“So, you just want me to pretend that I’m not part of your life…his life?”

They are suddenly parked in front of her house and Katniss pushes open the rickety car door.

“He is your son,” she says simply. “I’m nothing but the girl that you put him in. I don’t have the capacity to be anything more.”

Heaving herself out of the car—which is harder than ever now that she’s in her seventh month—Katniss turns to him; he looks unbelievably defeated. She feels the same way, but this is for the best.

At least that’s what she tells herself as the tears well up in her eyes.

“You shouldn’t want me,” Katniss chokes out. “I don’t even know how this baby could want me to be his mother—” Her hands go to her stomach and when she blinks, the tears she tries so hard to hide drip down her cheeks. “But there isn’t anything we can do about it, can we?”

Peeta falters at her standing there, at the cusp of a meltdown. “Katniss—”

“Leave, Peeta.” She turns away, heading towards her home. “Just stay away, okay? I’ll tell you when he’s born!”

Katniss slams his car door shut, pulling her house keys out of the pocket. Her hands tremble as she unlocks her front door and steps into the house, shutting it quickly behind her. Closing her eyes, she rests back against the door, taking a deep breath.

Is this how it feels when your heart breaks?

She wants to cry and throw-up…then lay in bed until she can get the hell out of Panem with her son.

“Katniss?”

Opening her eyes, she is surprised to find her mother home.

“What are you doing here?”

“I’m taking earlier shifts at the hospital so I can be home more,” her mother informs her. “I think that we all need to learn how to be a family again—especially with a baby on the way.”

Katniss nods, pulling a chair at their wobbly dining table. She’s exhausted, but all she can think about is the look of hurt in Peeta’s blue eyes.

“The boy—the one in the yellow Beetle,” her mother asks from behind her. “Is that him?”

Instead of nodding, Katniss manages to sniffle a ‘Yes’.

Her mother suddenly places her hand on her daughter’s head, running her fingers through Katniss’ scalp. She used to do it when Katniss was just a child.

When her Dad was still alive, and everything was simple…

The dam breaks and Katniss begins to sob, shoulders shaking harshly.

“I-I miss him…”

Katniss is not sure if she is talking about her Dad or Peeta—but the pain of both gone is equally sharp.

Her mother kisses the top of her head. “I understand.”

++++++

The halls of Panem High School are buzzing as she enters with Johanna. Her back is aching; her son is weighing in at around five pounds, which is absolutely on-par for an eight-month fetus.

Katniss’ mother introduces her to Dr. Paylor, an obstetrician at the hospital that she works for and she will be her doctor from now on. It is a bit late to be transferring over to another practice, but her mother believes that Dr. Paylor is the best and the best for Katniss as well as her grandson.

With her mother home, they have grown closer. Katniss, Prim, and their mother eat dinner and watch trashy reality shows together. It is nice to be able to rest her head when she gets home as she attempts to finish out her school year.

The one blight in her year is Peeta; they haven’t talked in a month. He texts her to check up on the baby’s progress and she responds by sending him ultrasound photos. In Miss Trinket’s class, they take turns working on the class worksheet, putting the other person’s name on it at the end of class.

Katniss misses him. At night, she closes her eyes and sees his smile in the comforting light of a sunset or feels his touch against her cheek in her dreams. Sometimes, she wakes up smiling and other times, she’s in tears.

Her stubbornness has brought her to this moment, too afraid to admit her love and her insecurity.

“What is going on?” Katniss asks as she heads to her locker.

Groups of girls stand about, magazines in their hands, pointing over dresses.

“Prom, Katniss,” Johanna informs her tersely. “Obviously, we’re not welcome.”

“You can go,” Katniss replies evenly. “I don’t think that they allow whales like me at prom.”

“Would you want to go if someone asked you?” Johanna asks carefully.

Katniss stops for a moment, opening her locker, and putting her extra books in. Her eyes flit briefly over to where Peeta stands with Marvel.

“I would,” she says softly before giving Johanna a tight smile. “But, no one will.”

“Not the one you want anyway, right?” They close their respective lockers and Johanna puts an arm around Katniss’ shoulders. “I’m with you, sister.”

“Yeah, seeing as what you want is pretty illegal,” Katniss quips.

“I’m eighteen and I was eighteen during the summer,” Johanna retorts.

“Do you love him?” she asks her best friend.

Johanna sighs, her gaze downcast. “Kind of, but nothing will come of it—not until I’m out of here. And you?”

“Isn’t it backwards to fall in love with someone after they’ve gotten you pregnant?”

“Just a smidge.”

“Who needs prom?” Katniss tells her. “I’m looking forward to sitting at home with my belly and my television.”

“You’re such a liar.”

Katniss’ eyes go to Peeta; he looks to her, a sad smile gracing his handsome features before he replies to whatever Marvel is saying.

“I am.”

++++++

Prom talk hasn’t abated in the last two weeks.

Then, Katniss hears that Madge Undersee has asked Peeta to prom.

Madge Undersee, blonde and blue eyed, with full strawberry lips and big breasts that aren’t big just because she’s pregnant. She’s also very smart—Harvard bound—and is as sweet as apple pie.

There are some girls at Panem High who sneer at her. Not Madge; she actually offers to teach Katniss to knit so she can make hats for the baby. Just a week ago, she gave Katniss a lovely yellow handknit blanket that she made herself.

All in all, Madge is a perfect girlfriend and prom date for Peeta.

And now, enemy number one to Katniss.

“Katniss.” She turns to find Peeta rushing towards her in the empty hallway, worry etched in his features. “I know that you heard about Madge—”

“It’s fine,” she says, trying to keep the tremble from her voice. “She’s really nice and all—”

“But you don’t understand,” he interrupts. “Madge and I—”

“What you are doesn’t matter to me,” Katniss responds, slamming her locker door, and turning away from him. “Our kid isn’t calling her ‘Mom’ though.”

“Are you jealous?” Peeta asks. She doesn’t respond. “You’re the one who doesn’t want to be with me—”

“I know!” Katniss looks to him. “I know what I’ve done, and you have every right to move on…” She bites her lips till she tastes blood. “But it doesn’t mean that I can’t feel hurt.”

“If I had asked you to prom, what would you have said?” he suddenly says, his eyes boring into her own.

“Doesn’t matter what my answer would’ve been.” Fuck, Katniss hates that tears come so easily now. “You’re going with Madge to prom.”

With that, she walks away to find the nearest restroom to cry in.

++++++

“My God, your feet are swollen!” Johanna pokes at Katniss’ plump foot. “Will they stay like that?”

“No. They should go back to normal eventually,” Katniss assures her friend as they sit on the couch. “Right, Mom?”

“Yes. They won’t be like that forever,” her Mom says from the kitchen. “Did you want anything on the popcorn?”

“Besides butter? A chocolate bar…” Her stomach grumbles—it does it often now. “…or a milkshake?”

“You’re a pig!” Johanna cackles at her. “But a milkshake does sound good. Can we borrow your car, Mrs. Everdeen?”

“Sure, keys are at the door. Ask if Prim wants anything.”

Katniss stands carefully. “I’ll go ask.”

She heads down the hallway and knocks on the door, waiting until Prim calls out.

Sticking her head inside, Katniss finds her sister on the bed, laptop open as a guitar solo plays on its speakers. Her sister gives her a smile and puts down the little art project that she’s working on.

“Johanna and I are grabbing milkshakes. Did you want one?”

“Sure. Strawberry, please,” Prim says.

“Cool, we should be back in about ten minutes,” Katniss tells her.

“Katniss?” Prim stands up, holding the piece she’s been working on. “I know that it’s your prom night—”

“I’m fine,” she assures her sister. “I don’t think I would’ve have had any fun. I’ll probably be asleep by ten tonight, anyway.”

“Well, even though you didn’t go, I made you this.” Prim fastens the elastic of her little art piece on her wrist. “It’s a corsage. I didn’t have fresh flowers, so I used some fabric that I had laying around to make roses and some of my old costume jewelry for the accents…” Prim meets Katniss’ eyes worriedly. “Do you like it?”

Katniss is touched beyond belief. “Prim…I love it.” She pulls her sister into her arms. “This beats any regular corsage. Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Prim blushes. “I thought it would be nice to have. When I go to my prom, I’ll use it and when your son goes to his, he can give it to his date.”

“You’re an unbelievably kind person and you’re going to be a great Aunt,” she tells Prim proudly. Johanna calls out her name. “We’ll be back.”

“I’m coming!” She finds her mother and Johanna peeking out the front window. “What are you two doing?”

“You might want to go out there,” Johanna tells her. “Alone.”

“Aren’t we getting milkshakes?” She joins her mother and friend at the window to see what they peering at. “What is going on—”

Peeta is standing outside, dressed in a black tuxedo, and leaning back against that yellow Beetle of his.

“Go on,” her mother urges as she opens the door for Katniss. “See what he wants.”

Katniss smooths down the oversized sweater she wears before stepping out of the house.

Peeta straightens, approaching her carefully. “Hi.”

“Hello,” she replies quietly. “What are you doing here?”

“Going to the prom,” Peeta tells her with a smile. His gaze goes to her wrist and he reaches into the open window of the car, presenting a fresh flower corsage. “I got you one, but that one looks a lot nicer.”

“Prim made it,” she replies. “I thought you were going to prom with Madge.”

“I’ve known Madge since I was a kid because our parents are old friends,” he explains. “She’s basically a sister to me. There is also a guy she likes, and he finally pulled his head out of his ass enough to admit that he likes her. She and Gale are probably enjoying their dinner right now.”

“Gale?” Katniss guffaws. “And he was so sore for so long about you and me!”

“If he had bothered to look around, he might have noticed that Madge was crushing on him badly,” Peeta says, his mouth in a lopsided smile. “So, now’s my chance to ask the girl that I really wanted to go to the prom with—”

“I can’t…” His face falls at her words. “No! I do want to go with you, but I’m kind of having a night with my family and Johanna. Also, I’m just not up for dancing in front of people feeling this huge.”

Suddenly, the beginning strains of a guitar float out of her house.

Peeta grins, holding out his hand. “Would you be up for dancing here?”

Katniss’ mouth rises in a smile and she takes his hand.

Carefully, Peeta wraps an arm around her waist to hold her close. She lets her head fall to his shoulder as they sway to the sound of Dan Fogelberg’s crooning.

“What’s this song called?” Peeta asks, his mouth against her ear. “Sounds familiar.”

“‘Longer’ by Dan Fogelberg.” Katniss raises her head. “It’s my parents’ song; they danced to it at their wedding.” She glances over at the closed curtains of the house, though she’s sure that her mother is spying on them—along with Prim and Johanna. “I guess this is my mom’s way of saying that you have her and my dad’s approval. We Everdeens are not good about letting people know personal information. This is a big nod to you.”

“I’m honored.” Peeta takes a deep breath and looks into her eyes. “Katniss, from the first time I saw you, you’ve had my heart. I know that you think that it’s just our son that keeps me coming back. He is part of the reason but, from the beginning, you’ve been what I’ve wanted. Just you. Your kindness and your ability to just make me see beyond what’s in front of me. You make me see every shade of the world. You’ve opened my eyes…and you’ve made me fall so deeply, madly in love with you.”

“Peeta…” She’s blubbering—it happens a lot more now—and grinning so hard that she’s sure that her face will be hurting tomorrow. “I think I’ve loved you longer than I’d like to admit...but the point is that I love you, too. I think I always will—if that’s okay.”

“More than okay.” Peeta goes to her, pressing a kiss to her mouth. It’s soft, but Katniss can feel the kiss all the way to her toes. She wraps her arms around his neck and kisses him back.

There, in his arms, she can feel the earth move under her feet and the planets revolve.

When they pull apart, they are both smiling, foreheads pressed together.

“Always, Katniss,” Peeta whispers.

“Longer, Peeta,” she replies in turn.

++++++

There’s a knock on her door.

“Katniss, are you ready?” her mom asks as she peeks in. “Oh wow…”

“At least I won’t worry about anyone noticing the belly in the sea of red polyester,” Katniss jokes as she adjusts her cap on top of her head. Her hand goes to her stomach and her son kicks in response. “I’m just joking, kiddo. I’m more than proud to be your mommy.”

“You look really pretty,” her mother replies. “I wanted to give you something to wear and found this.” She presents Katniss with a velvet case and opens it. Inside is a pearl necklace. “This was my grandmother’s.” Taking it out, she moves Katniss’ dark waves aside to fasten it to her neck. “I was going to give it to you on your wedding day, but I think you deserve something special now.”

“Thanks.” Her hand rests on the pearls. “I’ll be sure to keep it safe for when Prim graduates.” There’s a honking outside. “That’s Johanna.”

“We’ll see you there,” her mother says and suddenly pulls her in for a hug. “I’m very proud of you, Katniss.”

“Thanks, Mom.” They pull apart and Katniss is suddenly surprised by the nervousness coming from her insides. She can feel her stomach turning at the thought of crossing the stage. “I better get going.”

Heading out the front door, she is stunned to find Johanna sticking out of the top of a limousine.

“My parents thought we should arrive in style,” her best friend told her. “Plus, if it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t be going to San Francisco State. I probably wouldn’t be going anywhere.”

The driver comes out and opens the door for Katniss.

As she steps into the car, she feels another turn of nervousness.

“You okay?” Johanna asks. “You made a face.”

“Nothing really, just graduation nerves.”

++++++

However, as Katniss walks towards her seat on their football field, Katniss realizes that it’s not nerves.

It’s labor pains.

She cranes her neck towards the section where Johanna and Peeta are seated; they are about three seats away from one another. However, from where she is, Katniss can’t see them. She feels another sharp spasm from her stomach and clenches her teeth.

The speeches have just finished and they’re _finally_ getting to handing out diplomas. Her hands are clasped so tight that the program she was given is crumpled into a ball in her fist.

However, Katniss rallies because she will get her diploma and she will cross the stage—for herself and for her child.

“Katniss?” She looks up to see everyone in her section standing except for her. Clove Eton is looking at her in concern. “We’re up.”

“Thanks,” Katniss breathes out as she stands.

Clove looks to her, worry washing over her pale face. “Are you okay?”

She nods quickly, maybe too quickly because Clove doesn’t seem to be convinced. However, they all prepared to get on the stage, standing at the stairs as the students with the last names starting with a D, cross the stage.

Her eyes look over the crowd and she sees her mother with Prim, who holds a camera. She tries to smile at them, but it turns into a grimace as another stronger contraction surges through her body. The grin on her mother’s face slides off, realizing what’s happening.

It’s getting worse…

Thankfully, Katniss realizes that she is next, and watches as Clove gets her diploma and shakes hands with Snow.

“ _Katniss Everdeen_.”

Her name is announced, and Katniss hurriedly gets her diploma from one of the attendants and goes to shake Snow’s hand.

The man shakes her hand. “Smile for the cameras. Coin wants to make sure that I’m doing my job and we’re going to show everyone that even trash like you can succeed at Panem High—”

“Let go of me,” she responds as he tightens his hold. “I’m not your poster girl!”

“You’re making a fool of yourself, Miss Everdeen—”

“Get away from her!” Peeta is crossing over the rows. He jumps onto the stage, joining her side. “Let go, Snow.”

The man sneers. “Mr. Mellark, I suggest you sit back down if you want to get your diploma.”

“As the father of her child—” There’s a definitive gasp from the crowd. “—I demand you take your hands off my girlfriend,” Peeta responds, blue eyes harder than Katniss has ever seen. “She’s clearly in labor!”

Snow relents and Peeta guides her down the steps, his arm around her waist.

Katniss turns to him, her throat thick with tears. “You called me your girlfriend.”

“You’re in labor and our former principal just tried to manhandle you…and that’s what you got out of all of that?” Peeta laughs, giving her a kiss in front of the crowd. “I love you.”

“Oh God, I can’t even imagine what everyone is thinking,” she gasps out, her hand on her stomach.

Peeta shrugs. “Fuck ‘em.” This time, Katniss chuckles before pressing a kiss to his mouth. “Now, let’s go have this baby.”

They rush away from the ceremony to the cheers of their classmates.

++++++

Katniss and Peeta name their son Daniel John—after both their fathers.

He arrives at sunset with Peeta and her mother by her side.

Johanna met them at the front parking lot, already having shuffled her mother and Prim into the limo while Peeta helped Katniss off the graduation stage.

They must have been a sight entering the ER in a stretch limo, three teenagers in red graduation gowns, a frantic mother, and Prim with her camera, documenting everything happening—for her nephew’s sake.

The pain is unbearable and, according to Dr. Paylor, she is dilated at 6 centimeters when they finally get her into her room.

“You are quite determined, Katniss,” the doctor tells her with a smile. “Holding out till you crossed the stage.”

“I had something to prove,” she replies.

When the doctor put the baby in her arms, bundled up and wailing loudly, Katniss falls in love.

He has Peeta’s round eyes and her grimace—Daniel is none too happy when they take him away from his mom to be fully cleaned.

“He looks like you…” her mother says tearily, kissing the side of her sweaty head. “…both of you.” She pats Peeta’s shoulder and gives him a kind smile. “I’m going to tell your sister that she’s officially an Aunt.”

Her mother steps out, leaving them alone as they wait for their son to be returned.

“You did great.” Peeta wipes his eyes before leaning down to kiss her. “I’m so proud of you.”

“I’m sorry that you didn’t get your diploma,” Katniss tells him softly.

“I’ll take our son over getting my diploma any day,” he assures her. “We can get the actual one in the mail. I have no idea why Snow was trying to hold that over me.”

The nurse returns with Daniel, cleaned up and perfectly swaddled, placing him in Katniss’ arms.

Peeta leans down to kiss his forehead. “He’s absolutely perfect.” He looks to Katniss. “I was going to introduce you to my family after the ceremony—”

“But I had to go into labor,” she snorts. “When they’re ready, I’d love to meet them.”

“I’m pretty sure they followed the limo here,” he tells her. “When you are ready, I can ask them to come in.”

“In a bit,” Katniss says, looking down at the boy in her arms and then at the boy at her side. “Right now, I just want it to be us.”

“Okay,” Peeta agrees, putting an arm around her. “Just us.”

**FIN.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually had two other songs in mind for the song that Katniss and Peeta dance to. The first one is “Believe in Me” by Dan Fogelberg and the other one is “If” by Bread.
> 
> However, the featured song won because I just thought that it would be a song that the Mr. and Mrs. Everdeen would dance to at their wedding—because it’s so effing romantic. If you haven’t heard “Longer” by Dan Fogelberg, I’d give it a listen.
> 
> There are no plans for a sequel or follow-up, but I’d like to think that everything turned out alright for our couple.
> 
> Any other questions about their fate or the story should be sent to me on Tumblr.
> 
> Thank you for reading. I really enjoyed working on this because I hardly do pure high school Everlark.
> 
> Till the next story,
> 
> JLaLa

**Author's Note:**

> I plan to update every other day.


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